Junior software developers may have become too reliant on AI tools and it’s undermining core coding skills, according to claims by tech blogger and programmer Namanyay Goel.
In a blog post that’s sparked intense discussion in the industry, Goel wrote that he’s been troubled by the behavior of new developers he’s spoken to who are using some sort of AI coding assistant.
“Every junior dev I talk to has Copilot or Claude or GPT running 24/7. They’re shipping code faster than ever. But when I dig deeper into their understanding of what they’re shipping? That’s where things get concerning,” Goel said.
Though the code works, new devs are unable to explain how or why it works, Goel noted, or are stumped on questions about edge cases. Foundational knowledge is missing as junior developers are not learning from scratch, he added.
“We’re trading deep understanding for quick fixes, and while it feels great in the moment, we’re going to pay for this later,” Goel said.
Anecdotally comparing today’s developers with those of his generation who had to use Stack Overflow when they encountered an error, Goel described how learning from experienced developers is far superior to learning through AI tools.
“AI gives you answers, but the knowledge you gain is shallow. With StackOverflow, you had to read multiple expert discussions to get the full picture. It was slower, but you came out understanding not just what worked, but why it worked,” Goel said.
Developers need to use AI tools correctly, expert suggests
Using AI tools can be a useful learning tool, according to Peter Schneider, Senior Product Manager at Qt Group, but they need to be used in the right way.
“If junior developers generate code with AI assistants and deploy the code to digital products without truly understanding it, then they run into the risk of introducing suboptimal code. It's also worth noting that whenever junior developers use AI-generated code, they're not really learning how to write and review code themselves,” Schneider told ITPro.
“That's why we recommend to our customers today that they use AI assistants to augment the learning experience of junior developers, not to replace coding itself,” he added.
There are clear benefits to using AI coding tools, but junior developers need to remember that AI isn’t flawless, said Faye Ellis, principal training architect at Pluralsight.
“It can still produce inaccurate outputs, and though large language models (LLMs) are remarkable, their current ability to learn and improve from interactions remains quite limited, meaning progress may feel uneven for some time,” Ellis told ITPro.
“Overreliance on AI tools could stop junior developers from developing essential skills, as generating code with AI is not the same as fully understanding it. Businesses should still invest in training developers to improve their coding expertise, rather than rely solely on AI,” she added.
Are AI coding tools worth the risk?
It’s not just workers' skill sets being undermined that developers need to worry about. Various reports over the last few months have put the quality of AI-generated code up for debate as well.
A report from Harness earlier this year found that 59% of developers reported problems with deployments in AI-generated code at least half of the time.
While 92% said AI tools had increased the volume of code shipped, they also said this increased the ‘blast radius’ of bad code.
67% of developers reported more time debugging AI-generated code and 68% spent more time fixing vulnerabilities after adopting AI tools, the report found.
Bogging developers down in these remediation tasks is also inflicting a serious financial toll on organizations and potentially negating the productivity gains afforded by the tools, Harness warned.
AI is causing a skills concern across the board
Software developers aren't the only professionals becoming over-reliant on AI tools, however, and this is a problem that could spread across a range of professions in years to come.
A recent study from Microsoft examining the impact of AI on knowledge workers found the increased use of the technology could be impacting their critical thinking skills.
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The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University revealed a deterioration in certain cognitive faculties among those who frequently used AI tools.
Researchers warned the use of the technology is making workers unprepared to deal with anything other than routine tasks in their daily workflow.
“While AI can improve efficiency, it may also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI, raising concerns about long-term reliance and diminished independent problem-solving," researchers said.
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